Brand of gas issues

B

BlueZ4

Member
Not sure about anyone else on here, but I'll tell the full story.

There is a Shell station not far from my apartment, so I usually fill up there. After a while, the injectors needed flushed,the service engine light came on 3 times because of idle problems and I was down about 10% in gas mileage. It didn't occur to me that I might try different gas. These problems didn't surface for 4 months on Shell gas so I didn't assume the gas might be the problem.

About two weeks ago I went to Chevron instead and filled her up. After a few tanks and to my surprise, the idle problem went away, the service engine light went off on it's own and my gas mileage slowly increased from week to week. I'm still taking her in for a check up, though.

Not sure if it's just me or if other people have had problems with shell gas, but I figured I'd let you all know.

Hopefully this trip to the dealer to get her checked will be the last in a long time.
 
I wouldn't say your experiences were conclusive to be fair. I use shell v-power exclusively in my car as do most M owners and I've never heard of issues. In fact quite the opposite.

Your car would have logged a fault so it will be interesting to see exactly what the cause of your recent issues may have been.


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The only fuel I've ever had issues with has been Tesco 99, but then I also know people who've never had a problem with it.
 
Not all Shell gas is created equal. For example, in Canada we go up to 94 Octane shell (99 Octane RON rating) and it's Ethanol free. All the Shell stations I've been to in the U.S. were 91 Octane and contained Ethanol!

I'd have issues with Ethanol gas, especially with SMG gearboxes on both the M3 and Z4... clunky shifting, the computer has issues rev-matching. The Z4 can be ridiculously smooth to drive in SMG mode after filling up with Ethanol free Shell 94... absolutely buttery smooth every time. But if I switch back to another gas or let the gas sit in the tank for a week, then I have to adjust the pedal with a slight lift while shifting to compensate.

Very odd, but definitely directly linked to the gasoline used.
 
How much trade does the Shell station get? If it's not that busy the petrol is old (ish), if the other service station is used all the time it always gets a nice fresh supply
 
In the US here is a web site that will give you the suggested brands of gas to use for the US and Canada...
Shell is a Top Tier gasoline and recommended for use in BMWs as well as other cars in both the US and Canada.

http://www.toptiergas.com/

I use nothing but Shell V power (93 Octane) and have never had any problems.
 
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